Wednesday, January 19, 2011

GOP votes to add $282 billion to the national debt

WASHINGTON – The House on Wednesday voted to repeal the Democrats’ landmark health care overhaul, in a largely symbolic step that the new Republican majority said marked the beginning of an all-out effort to dismantle President Obama’s signature domestic policy achievement.

Leaders of the Democratic-controlled Senate have said that they will not act on the repeal measure, effectively scuttling it.

A House majority voted 245 to 189 to repeal the measure.

While conceding the reality that the measure would not advance in the Senate, House Republicans said they would still press ahead with their “repeal and replace” strategy. The next steps, however, will be much more difficult, as they try to forge consensus on alternatives to the new law emphasizing “free market solutions” to control health costs and expand coverage.

Republicans have sketched their ideas without giving many details.

Even as four committees begin drafting legislation, Republicans said they would seek other ways to stop the overhaul, by choking off money needed to carry it out and by pursuing legislation to undo specific provisions, including its linchpin requirement that most employers help pay to insure their workers.

(Note: This is breaking news. It is likely the linked text will change with time.)

The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office estimated that blanket repeal of the (deeply flawed) health care reform would add $282B to the national debt over ten years and several times that much over the following ten. Speaker Boehner responded with "well that's their opinion." The GOP suspended it's own rules forbidding any legislation that added to the national debt without offsetting cuts in spending. Nor have the Republicans offered any concrete legislation to address the added debt burden of repeal.

Obamacare does no just pay for itself. It was designed to reduce the overall cost of healthcare and by extension the burden on thew government (esp Medicaire). Healthcare costs more than any other expenditure are what is driving the country towards bankruptcy.

One of the best ways to lower health care costs is ongoing preventative health care.

What in this 1,000 page law provides for 'preventative care?'

I mean, other than screening for diseases that everybody will eventually get anyway.

You want preventative care, eliminate the corn subsidy. And we could probably provide coupons for salmon, brown rice and broccoli and a health club membership for everybody in the country with that money.

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